Guantanamo Bay

[Red Triangle]

Lets remember that it was not that long ago that several people were released from prison after their convictions were overthrown for terrorism in the UK (Guildford and Birmingham, everyone!). These people were convicted with the full checks and balances of the legal system to prevent miscarriages of justice. Under the current "fear" climate, our governments are trying to make it legitimate to convict people with less proof and circumstantial evidence.

None of us know anything about why these individuals are in Camp Delta because no information about why they are there has been placed in the public domain. We don't know the circumstances of why they were picked up. We don't know even if they were fighting or not. We don't know anything. So we can't pre-judge if they are guilty or not. Lets stick up for the values of our democratic society which must be preserved otherwise Osama has won. And a value worth preserving his innocent until PROVEN guilty.

IF in the event anyone who does get released from Camp Delta and our own police investigations can find nothing on them to even mount a prosecution then questions will be asked about why they were arrested in the first place. And if it was you who this happened to I bet you would want to sue for compensation.

I wonder what the Americans would have said if during the 1970s, the UK started arresting and putting into a Guantanamo Bay type in carceration American citizens it thought might have been contributing to the IRA cause (and lets face it we know US citizens were funding IRA causes at this time). And that those arrested had no lawyers, no contact with the outside world and no information was passed to the US government on why and how their citizens were arrested.

[jj]

I tend to agree with your gut-reaction, particularly where the poisonous Abu Hamza is concerned.
But when I've calmed down with a nice cuppa, and reason reasserts itself, I wonder why he hasn't been prosecuted for incitement to racial/religious hatred, and THEN promptly deported, preferably 'with extreme prejudice'.

[jj]

> Lets stick up for
> the values of our democratic society which must be preserved
> otherwise Osama has won. And a value worth preserving his
> innocent until PROVEN guilty.
Absolutely.
>
> IF in the event anyone who does get released from Camp Delta
> and our own police investigations can find nothing on them to
> even mount a prosecution then questions will be asked about why
> they were arrested in the first place.
Indeed.
>
> I wonder what the Americans would have said if during the
> 1970s, the UK started arresting and putting into a Guantanamo
> Bay type in carceration American citizens it thought might have
> been contributing to the IRA cause (and lets face it we know US
> citizens were funding IRA causes at this time). And that those
> arrested had no lawyers, no contact with the outside world and
> no information was passed to the US government on why and how
> their citizens were arrested.
Nice point- I wonder if any of these turkeys actually visited N Ireland in the 70s, and if the Security services were aware of it? Of course, no recent government would have dared risk the 'special relationship' ('special' presumably because it's a unilateral relationship, i.e. an oxymoron?).

[Officer Dibble]

Well, they thought it might stir things up on the streets of Bradford, Burnley, or Oldham. Particularly, as they were tinderboxes of discontent as it was. It's easy to see how the hormonally charged Asian youth of those towns would have been amenable to the suggestion (by dangerous Islamic zealots) that it was a personal slight on them and an attack on their community, and hence, in the minds of the Asian youth, an excellent excuse for a wonderfully exhilarating ruck with the old bill. The government just didn't want to deal with any of the ensuing controversy and shit. It would have been embarrassing in front of our American and European neighbours, like the problem sibling of the family throwing a tantrum in Sainsbury?s. So they just hoped that by not drawing public attention to Hamza no one (i.e. the press and the Asian community) would notice what he was preaching.

However, I would have taken a different tack, as would any other red-blooded geezer if you had given someone shelter in your home started taking the piss. I'd have thrown him in the slammer, hauled him up before the courts and made it clear to him and the world what a nasty man he was and what utter cunt he was being. Then maybe I would have deported him to face the tender mercies of the Saudis, who I believe had the hard on for him. T' fuck with anyone taking mock offence - if they wanted to cause bother I would have said "Hey, bring it on." We could have then shown everyone what we believe the acceptable standards of civilised behaviour are and that their was absolutely no question about us enforing those standards, whether we put someone's nose out of joint or not.

Officer Dibble - taking a tough line against nasty boring bastards.

[mart]

Story and pics of Hamza.


Mart

[jj]

Yep, we're never in more dead schtuck than when weedy politicians won't even apply the laws we have, to deal with such a nasty piece of work.
A smarter DPP would have had the DSS going through his Benefit Claims (amounting to more than I earn a week, I believe) with a fine-tooth comb, too........